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Previous research found trainee teachers with northern accents felt they were 'selling out' because they felt they had to change their accents to be understood in the classroom, having been instructed to do so by their mentors.

He said: "There is a respect and tolerance for diversity in society, yet accents do not seem to get this treatment - they are the last form of acceptable prejudice.

There is a respect and tolerance for diversity in society

Dr Alex Baratta

"One teacher told me that it makes no sense that teachers have to sound the same, but teach the children to be who they are."

Dr Baratta said when interviewing trainee teachers with regional accents, almost all of them admitted that their accent had been picked-up on by mentors, leading to too many teaching staff feeling they had to neglect their 'true voice.'

He said they felt they had to "modify" their accents as they were deemed inappropriate for education.

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Many northern teachers revealed they 'felt fake' by donning a posh twang

Dr Baratta said: "The trainee teachers I spoke to believe that they are being judged for how they speak and not what they say, and asking them to modify their accents made them feel inferior."

Another participant from the Midlands claimed that a mentor with a southern accent said that she'd be 'best to go back to where you came from' in relation to her pronunciation of 'a' and 'u', as in 'bath' and 'bus.'p' their accent to fit in to certain work and social situations, threatening their personal identities and often causing anger and frustration.

Dr Baratta added: "While Received Pronunciation or the Queen's English was historically regarded as the most prestigious accent, there is evidence to suggest its influence is less pervasive nowadays amidst growing recognition of, and respect for, regional accents.

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The teaching profession wouldn't tolerate prejudice based on race and religion

"We live in a society in which equality is championed and diversity is celebrated, certainly within the workplace so why does it feel as if the teaching profession is completely discarding the unique richness that comes with regional accents?"

In 2014 Dr Baratta conducted the first study into how accent modification in Britain affects the way people feel about themselves.

He found that many people felt like fakes for 'poshing up' their accent to fit in to certain work and social situations, threatening their personal identities and often causing anger and frustration.